New Or Noteworthy For This Year

State Information

The Colorado Draw System

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Colorado's Mule Deer Breakdown

The Points System

Colorado's 2023 Mule Deer Application Overview

Note: The application deadline for all Colorado species is 8:00 p.m. MST on April 4, 2023. You can apply online here.

Insider features

HUNT PLANNER

To aid in your research and planning efforts, we created a brand new tool for Insiders called Hunt Planner. This tool will help you be more efficient at planning for hunts and also keeps all your research data organized. No more notepads getting lost or headaches when trying to remember what units caught your eye during your research! Everything you need is always in one place at GOHUNT.

What can you do in Hunt Planner?

Learn more about Hunt Planner here

POINT TRACKER

Point Tracker allows you to enter the number of points you have for each state and species and, as you research through Filtering 2.0 and Draw Odds, your point total will automatically be highlighted. Learn more about Point Tracker here.

Access Point Tracker here

Be aware that some units may have slightly different dates. Review the Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW)brochure for details of the hunts you plan to apply for.

To view important information and an overview of Colorado’s rules/regulations, the draw system and preference points, tag and license fees and an interactive boundary line map, check out our State Profile. You can also view the SpeciesProfiles to access historical and statistical data to help you find trophy units.

Colorado is a fairly easy state to apply in. You will have to create an online account if you have not previously done so. Or youcan call 1-800-244-5613 for help getting an account.

Important Dates and Information

*Deer license cost will only be charged if you are successful in the draw.

Understanding the Draw

For deer hunts that require six or more points for a Colorado resident to draw, up to 20% of the licenses will beallocated to nonresidents. Hunts that require fewer than six points for a Colorado resident to draw will have up to35% of the licenses allocated to nonresidents.

Point System

Colorado utilizes a true preference point system to allocate deer licenses. This means that the applicants with themost preference points who apply for any given hunt will draw the licenses. There is no random draw for licenses.There are also no over-the-counter (OTC) mule deer licenses in Colorado.

Applicants will gain one preference point for every year they apply for a hunt and are unsuccessful in drawing theirfirst choice. If applicants want to build preference points only, they can use the preference point only code as theirfirst choice. Applicants can draw a hunt as a second, third or fourth choice and still build a preference point forthat year. You cannot build more than one preference point per year. If you draw your first hunt choice, yourpreference points will be purged. If you fail to apply for a species or have not purchased a license for 10consecutive years, then all accumulated preference points for that species will be purged.

Deer preference point only code: D-P-999-99-P

Hunt Choices

Colorado allows applicants to select up to four hunt choices for deer. Colorado considers every applicant's first choice before moving to subsequent choices. In essence, in order to draw a license as a second choice, there must be a surplus of permits after every applicant's first choice is considered and so on and so forth throughout the otherchoices. As previously stated, you may be able to draw some hunts as a second choice while using the preference point code as your first choice. This would allow you to build a point for future years and also draw the second choice hunt.

You can explore the odds of drawing as a second choice within your Insider account. Simply change the “choice” filterfrom first to second and you can see all hunt odds of drawing as a second choice.

Group applications

Group applications of any number are accepted for deer. Residents and nonresidents can apply together. When aresident and nonresident apply together on a group application, the nonresident license comes out of the nonresidentquota for that hunt. One person must be the group leader and all applications in that group are linked together withthat group leader’s CID number. Every member of the group must apply for the same hunt at each choice. The groupapplication will go into the draw with the lowest number of preference points of any single member of the group. Thismeans that if a group of three apply and they have one, seven and 12 points, the application will go into the drawwith one point. CPW will not over allocate licenses to cover a group application if there are not enough licensesleft. For example, if there were two licenses left and an application for a group of three was selected, they wouldreject that application and move to the next applicant.

Second Drawing

Licenses remaining after the primary drawing will be available in a secondary drawing. The secondary drawing is opento anyone — whether they applied in the primary drawing or not. Applicants must have purchased a qualifying license toapply for the secondary draw. The secondary draw does not use preference points and you cannot apply for preferencepoints. The secondary drawing is a random draw.

The timeframe to apply in the second drawing is June 21 to June 30, 2023 at 8 p.m. MST. Youth ages 12 to 17 receivepriority for all licenses that make it to the second draw. Draw results for the secondary drawing will be available onJuly 7. Surrender deadline for the secondary drawing is July 10.

Returned, Leftover and Reissued Licenses

Colorado allows applicants who have drawn a license to return it if they do not want it. There will be a timeframeafter the draw where applicants can refuse the license and have their points restored to the pre-draw level.Applicants can also choose to pay for the license and return it at a later date as long as it’s done at least 30 daysprior to the hunt. In this case, they can choose to receive a refund for the cost of the license or have theirpreference points reinstated to a pre-draw level. Note: If you have your points reinstated, you will not receive apoint for that year's application.

Any returned or leftover licenses after the secondary draw will be reissued via a first come, first served processstarting on Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. MST. The leftover list will be made available in late July. Beyond Aug. 1, everyTuesday at 11:00 a.m., all reissued licenses will be placed on a list and published on the CPW website for customersto review. The following day, Wednesday at 11:00 a.m., those licenses will be sold on a first come, first servedbasis. Reissued licenses can be purchased online or in-person at CPW offices or other license agents.

The Seasons

Colorado offers archery seasons and is probably the best state in the West if you desire a true high country alpinespot and stalk hunt. The September timeframe is not quite as good as an early August hunt that you get in other states, but it still represents phenomenal changes to hunt high country mule deer. Typically, bucks are more visibleduring the September hunt due to the lack of previous hunting pressure — bucks are in bachelor herds — and they have amuch more visible reddish colored coat. Bucks are also more patternable during the archery season.

Colorado has muzzleloader rules and regulations that should be considered before applying, but for those willing tohunt with a muzzleloader, there are great opportunities to hunt mid-September while bucks are still in their summerrange. Similar to the archery season, bucks are in bachelor herds and many will still have a reddish summer coat. Someof the bigger bucks will have started to transition to gray hair, but they are still much easier to glass during themuzzleloader season.

Colorado also offers some early season high country rifle hunts. As you look at the harvest success for these hunts,they are not as high as you might think. Many of these hunts occur in September with a few units having an Octoberstart date. In my opinion, if you are willing to scout and backpack, these are good opportunities for a better buck.You get the advantage of bucks being on summer range in bachelor herds and you have the ability to reach out to longerdistances with a rifle. Do some research if you plan to apply for one of these hunts though because, as stated, theharvest success is not as high as you might think.

There are typically three rifle seasons: second rifle, third rifle and fourth rifle. The dates for the second rifleseason in 2023 are still good, running to Nov. 5. The end date for the second season is going to be too early in mostcases for the bucks to be rutting. The second rifle season is easier to draw due to that fact that bucks are going tobe transitioning from summer range to where they will rut and winter. The bucks may still be at high elevations if theweather is mild or they can be in the transition range, moving mostly into the aspen and aspen/mountain shrubinterface if weather is cold and snow hits. The second season can be challenging; bucks often are much less active asthey are mostly trying to put on body fat for the rut. The second season is good for applicants who want to hunt someof the better trophy areas, but do not have the points to draw a third or fourth season permits. The third rifleseason is typically when bucks are beginning to rut or they may be fully rutting if there are does coming into estrus.The dates are good and if weather cooperates, the third season can yield more sightings of mature bucks that areventuring out to check does. It’s worth noting that the third season is the primary time of year when hunters begin tostruggle with access to public lands or finding deer in some units on public land to hunt. In large, deer will havemoved to lower elevations. The hunts that are often easy to draw for the third season are in areas that have limitedamounts of public land winter range. Spend some time looking at GOHUNT Maps and the land ownership before applying.Overall, the third season can be great for hunters willing to cover ground, check doe/fawn herds to see what bucks areshowing up and spend as much time as possible behind binoculars and spotting scopes. The fourth season occurs in whatis often the peak of rut. This is why they are in higher demand. As with the third season, one of the most criticalfactors during the fourth season is finding public land and access to it. The more quality public winter range withina unit, the harder the permit is to draw. Finding success on easy to draw fourth season rifle units is possible, but Ihighly encourage some research prior to applying.

Snowpack and Drought in Colorado

2023

Colorado snow water equivalent update as of March 13, 2023. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

2023 Colorado drought monitor status from March 7. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2022

Colorado snow water equivalent update from March 8, 2022. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

2022 Colorado drought monitor status from March 1. Source: United States Drought Monitor

2021

Colorado snow water equivalent from March 5, 2021. Source: National Resources Conservation Service

2021 Colorado drought monitor status from March 2. Source: United States Drought Monitor

Colorado is synonymous with mule deer hunting, it’s truly one of the best opportunities to hunt and harvest theiconic species of the West. Mule deer habitat abounds and generally speaking deer populations have been healthy. Insaying that, populations are nowhere near historical levels, but even still thousands of deer hunters draw permits andascend the high mountain ranges and eastern flats every year in hopes of taking a trophy buck. The opportunity isstill very good and the Colorado deer draw is one of the most anticipated applications each year.

In 2020, the rifle season dates were bumped back with the second season rifle hunt opening on Oct. 24 and closing onNov. 1. In 2021, the second rifle season ran until Nov. 7 and until Nov. 6 in 2022. The third and fourth rifle seasondates were even later, ending on Nov. 13, Nov.19 and Nov. 18 in 2022. Fourth season dates have been as late as theyhave ever been, running until Nov. 22 in 2020, Nov. 28 in 2021 and Nov. 27 in 2022. The late season dates correspondto the heart of the mule deer rut and, as such, hunters anticipated seeing more bucks and the chance at a bigger buck.CPW favored the later dates as the intent was to target older age class bucks, which by percentage are more likely tobe a carrier of chronic wasting disease in areas where that has become a significant concern.

In 2021, the late season rifle hunts were warm and dry and, by most accounts, the hunt did not quite live up to thehype. Even still, by setting the filters in my Insider Filtering account and scrolling through the harvest success rates for second,third and fourth rifle seasons, I can see that a bulk of the hunts had higher success rates from 2020 to 2021. That isvery likely due to the later hunt dates. Moving into 2022, Mother Nature offered much more favorable conditions withearly season snow storms and cold temperatures and, although the 2022 harvest data is not available yet, the generalconsensus is that harvest success was again high. Once again, going into 2023, the season dates are still late withsecond rifle season ending Nov. 5, third rifle season ending Nov. 17 and fourth rifle season ending on Nov. 26th. CPWseems to be content with the direction harvest success is going and the rumor mill is that once again they will lookto run rifle hunts late into November in their new five year plan beginning in 2025.

The bigger questions are what are the results to the later dates and permit increases in regards to trophy potentialand point creep. Trophy potential is generally down in our opinion, particularly in units that were relatively easy todraw. Hunts that require more points to draw are managed for a higher quality hunt and there is less harvest overall,meaning those will still offer big bucks. However, within the mid to lower tier areas, we are hearing more and moreaccounts — in addition to our own experiences — that the mature bucks just are not there in the numbers that they usedto be. Only five or six years ago, those hunts still offered the hardcore hunter a relatively good opportunity toharvest a good buck and — in many cases — a great buck. Largely, that is no longer the case. It’s important that Imake the distinction here. There will always be trophy caliber bucks in almost every unit in Colorado; the habitat andextent of remote and rugged terrain will always offer the security and feed to produce giant bucks. There are just notas many of them. For locals or hunters who can pour a significant amount of time into scouting, trophy bucks are stillthere, but for most DIY, nonlocal hunters, the chances of killing a big buck are slim. That’s the bad news. The goodnews is that there is still a lot of opportunity to hunt and harvest a buck.

The other topic that was discussed as it related to the later season dates was point creep. The assumption was thatthe later dates would cause more people to utilize their points and point creep would flatten out or potentially evenbegin to recede for those hunts. In some cases, that has happened as high point holders have burned their points andare restarting the application process. There are still over 70,000 nonresident hunters in the application system and,although the point creep may have lessened some, we anticipate that there will still be point creep for most hunts inColorado. As you evaluate and plan out your strategy, it’s imperative that Insiders utilize the “detailed draw odds”pages within their account to make the best decision.

Point Creep

Point creep is the single biggest point of confusion for most applicants. Simply explained: point creep occurs whenthe number of tags available doesn't meet the demand — AKA the number of applicants each year. Thus, the point valuethat it takes to draw the license keeps creeping upward. This is an issue primarily in true preference point stateslike Colorado where the applicants with the most points who apply for any given hunt are guaranteed the licenses. Inaddition, applicants who have been banking points or applying for other hunts can decide to apply for another huntthat requires less points and draw a permit that was available previously at a lower point total.

Prior to applying, I cannot stress enough the importance of looking at the detailed draw odds pages for the hunts youare interested in. These pages can be found for each hunt by visiting the “draw odds” page, selecting Colorado, muledeer and your residency. That will show you the odds for every hunt offered in the state for all weapon types. You canfurther filter on the right side of the page for the weapon or season you are looking for. You can also filter by theodds: 0% to 100%. After you have scanned the hunts and selected some that you are interested in, you can click on theindividual hunt on the unit number on the left portion of the page.

Clicking into a hunt will take you to the “detailed draw odds” page for that hunt. Within that page, you will seefive years of draw information, including how many applicants applied at each point level and where permits wereawarded. Please note that we do not predict draw odds. It would be impossible to do so because we do not know whereeach applicant is going to apply this year. These detailed draw odds pages will show you how people applied andhelp you gauge your chances going into this draw if applicants applied in a similar manner this year. As stated, weinclude five years of data. This will help you to see if the hunt you are interested in is creeping up in the pointsrequired to draw. In many cases going into the 2023 draw, it will require one additional point to draw than what itshows was 100% in last year's draw, which is what is displayed in the odds. I recommend that as you scan the draw oddspage or the tables in this article, take a look at hunts that were available at your point level as well as one pointless than you currently have. Start by looking at the detailed draw odds pages for the hunts at your point level tosee if they have been creeping up in points over the last five years. After that, consider the hunts at one or twopoints less than you currently have and visit those detailed draw odds pages.

Deer Population

Colorado’s deer population has been relatively stable over the past 15 years. The total statewide estimate in themost recent data set is 416,426 in 2021, which is down from 427,570 in 2020.

For quick reference, we have included the 2021 estimated population and buck:doe ratios, which is the most recentpublished estimate to date.

DAU is a combination of one or more Game Management Units that represent a relatively discrete herd.

Hit list units for Colorado mule deer in 2023

How to Uncover Hidden Gem Units

As you review the hit list above, you will note that the nest hunts to harvest a mature buck are typically late season rifle hunts and require a healthy number of preference points to draw. In many of those units, you will alsosee that in many cases the archery, muzzleloader and even the second rifle seasons are much easier to draw. The trophy potential, for the most part, is still really good within those units. It’s worth considering those units and doingsome research to see if there are options that will allow you to hunt premier units with far fewer points.

The bulk of the hidden gems are in the muzzleloader and archery hunts and even the second rifle season in 2023. Thearchery and muzzleloader hunts give hunters the first opportunity at bucks when they are still in bachelor herds andon their summer range. During that time of year, public land access is much less of an issue when compared to late rifle hunts. If you decide to pursue those early hunts, it’s important to also have realistic expectations going into it. The terrain, vegetation and time of year when those hunts occur typically yield much less harvest success and canbe very challenging to harvest a mature buck, but if you are willing to dig deep, scout and hunt hard, there is goodpotential there.

Rifle hunters have many options with very few points. A quick search within Filtering 2.0 with the following filters (early rifle, second rifle, third rifle, fourth rifle) (170”+) (nonresident 50% draw odds with 0 preference points) (20% plus harvest success) yields 27 unitsthat are an option. If you have just one preference point, the options jump up to 51 units with the same filters. Keep in mind that many of these units are combined in unit groups for many hunts. With a little bit of research you canfind hidden gems. Some standouts include Unit 31/32, 481, 3/301, 65, 64/65, 41/42/421, 60, 39/46, 20, 25/26,52/411/521, 12/13/23/24, 17, 18/28/37/181, 48/56/481/561 and 43/47/471.

Your GOHUNT Insider account covers every opportunity and there are hundreds of other hunts that can be drawn withvery few points. We also include population estimates and buck to doe ratios within this article above. Between thoseand Filtering 2.0, standalone Draw Odds and the Unit Profiles, you can put together a hunt that will work for the number of points youhave. Historically, some of the biggest bucks in the state are harvested from low point draw units and bigger buckswill always persist in those types of units; however, the number of those bucks is fewer than it has been. Even so, our advice would be to hunt Colorado mule deer as often as possible. The law of averages is currently most likely the best strategy for Colorado. For example, if you hunt deer there five times in 15 years, you are more likely to kill a great buck than you are if you hunt one time in 15 years.

Utilize GOHUNT's standalone Draw Odds, trophy filters, Unit Profiles and the information in this article to findthose tucked away hidden gems.

Access Filtering 2.0 here

2023 maximum preference points for deer: 34

Managing Points and Expectations

Keep in mind that most of the land east of I-25 is private. Obtaining landowner permission prior to applying ishighly recommended. Applicants should review the detailed draw odds pages and generally consider hunts that could havebeen drawn at a point or two points less than what has been available at your current level.

I Have 0 Deer Points. What Can I Expect?

Zero points: There are many hunts for every season/weapon that a nonresident could have drawn with zero points. Thehunts that were drawn with zero points are a mixed bag of archery, muzzleloader and rifle seasons. Be aware that inmost cases, deer will begin migrating and moving to lower elevations during the later rifle seasons. The bulk ofprivate lands are at lower elevations and rifle hunts that are easy to draw are easy to draw for the most part due tothe potential conflict with private land and difficult access to public land. Almost all units west of I-25 have goodamounts of public land at the higher elevations, making archery and muzzleloader hunts good options for applicantswith no points.

The other option is to build a preference point by using the preference point code as a first choice and applying fora license that is likely to be drawn as a second choice. By changing the “choice” filter within the standalone drawodds page, you can see the odds of drawing every hunt as a second choice. This strategy will allow you to draw alicense and hunt while still building a preference point for future use.

Preference point only code as a first choice D-P-999-99-P.

One to three points: There are many options within this point range and it’s worth considering burning deerpoints in Colorado within this point range and getting back into the draw again and hunting more often.

Four to seven points: There are many options within this point range and we strongly recommend applicantsconsider using their deer points in Colorado within this point range and getting back into the draw again and huntingmore often.

Eight to 12 points: There are many options within this point range, but if you have built up this many pointsapplicants are usually looking for a better quality hunt. If you fall within this range, some of the best options arelisted in the table below.

Applicants beyond the 13 point range are likely looking at the best hunts. Applicants within this range shouldconsider the hunts listed in the GOHUNT hit list above. Overall, Colorado still offers very good deer hunting and is amust apply state for every mule deer enthusiast. Good luck in the draw!

Find your draw odds

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